Guess who'll pay MBAs' fees? You!

Urmi A Goswami, TNNFeb 9, 2004, 11.55pm IST

NEW DELHI: The drastic revision in IIM fees , an 80 per cent fee cut, has meant that the state, or more specifically, the taxpayer, will have to bear the larger share of the yearly expenditure. The UR Rao report , whose logic the government has applied to fees at the IIMs, offers a way to reduce the state's burden.

The report suggests that a cess of 1-2 per cent be levied on the beneficiaries of state-funded technical education, that is technical professionals and their employers. While the Rao report doesn't refer directly to the IIMs, it does talk about state-funded institutes coming under the purview of the AICTE — a fact made clear by professor UR Rao with reference to the ongoing controversy on the IIM fee reduction .

On that issue, government sources have clarified that while the Rao report doesn't refer to the IIMs, it has simply extended the logic of the report's findings to all state-funded institutes. By the same logic, a cess on the beneficiaries of the IIMs too, could be a possibility. However, ministry sources say that for the time being, the issue of a cess on the lines of the Rao report, has not been considered. In his report, professor Rao has referred to the Sarkar Committee, which launched the IITs.

As per the Sarkar Committee, the cost of technical education must be equally borne by the student, state and the industry. While professor Rao has suggested a lower fee, that amounting to no more than one-third of the per capita income, he also puts forward the suggestion of a continuous involvement of the alumni as well as the business/industry. This financial involvement is over and above any endowment or project. (Are you ready to bear the tax for the slash in IIM fees?)